World champion D Gukesh committed a costly blunder against American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in the final round to finish third, as five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen clinched a record-extending seventh Norway Chess title.
Gukesh, after being in a disadvantageous position against 2018 Norway Chess champion Fabiano Caruana, tried to stage a late comeback but ran out of time and committed a blunder, instantly realising his chances had slipped away.
Gukesh offered a handshake, grimaced, closed his eyes, and buried his face in both hands in frustration.
It was a golden opportunity for the young Indian world champion to win his maiden Norway Chess title in only his second appearance, after a roller-coaster tournament that saw him start on a poor note before turning things around with impressive Classical wins over Magnus Carlsen, compatriot Arjun Erigaisi, and China’s Wei Yi.
Defending champion Carlsen, who was the overnight leader with 15 points after round 9, ended the tournament with 16 points after fashioning the great escape against GM Erigaisi and steering the game to a draw in the 10th round on Friday.
Gukesh finished third -- the same as in the 2023 edition -- with 14.5 points, while Caruana was second with 15.5 points. Erigaisi finished fifth with 13 points.
Erigaisi won the Armageddon tie-break against Carsen following the miraculous draw by the Norwegian, but it did not matter in the end as the five-time world champion had already secured a point with the stalemate to win the title.
While Gukesh quietly walked out of the arena after losing to Caruana, Carlsen said he had to “literally fight for his life” to stay in the match against Arjun Erigaisi.
A defeat for the Norwegian would have been catastrophic, as the Gukesh-Caruana game was still in progress, and a Classical win for either would have dashed his hopes of a seventh Norway Chess title and the accompanying prize purse of approximately USD 69,500.
In fact, had Gukesh managed to draw his game against the American Grandmaster, he would have secured the title—provided Carlsen had lost his Classical encounter against Erigaisi.
Under the Norway Chess format, a Classical win earns three points, while a draw gives each player one point. A drawn game is followed by an Armageddon tie-break to decide the winner, who is awarded an additional half point.
“I don't know what to say, like I kind of provoked him (Erigaisi) into concrete action and then I obviously missed something pretty big. But I thought I was doing well when he completely out-calculated me and I just had to yeah fight for my life,” said Carlsen.
“It's just trying to find practical chances that keep the game alive, and it seemed that he (Erigaisi) got a bit nervous at some point… gave me very good chances.” Carlsen admitted that part of his attention was on the Gukesh-Caruana game, given the significant impact it could have had on his title-winning chances.
”I was just not good enough to find the win but looking at the other game (between Gukesh and Caruana), I kind of figured out at some point that I probably wouldn't need to win and that helped me,” said Carlsen.
“Yeah, of course it's (the win) a huge relief after a day like this in the tournament. Obviously, you know, my struggles have been well documented here but at least I fought till the end so I'm happy with that. It's been a roller-coaster ride and we're talking about classical chess.” Carlsen said he would not be playing a lot of classical chess in times to come.
“Not a lot (of classical chess) for sure. I'm not going to say that this tournament was my last for sure but I enjoy other forms of chess a lot more.”
On whether the title felt like a statement amid talks of the next generation rising, Carlsen said: “Had I actually won the tournament convincingly, we might have been having these talks. But honestly, there were at least three people who could have won this tournament easily, and I kind of stumbled into it. I don't think that's much of a statement.
“It's good to see that I feel like, at least in parts of the game, I am a lot better than the kids who are trying to take over. It's rare to see so many twists and turns… the quality wasn't perfect, but there was a lot of good chess as well.”
Anna Muzychuk wins women’s title
In the women’s section, overnight leader and two-time world blitz champion, Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk won the title with 16.5 points despite an Armageddon tie-break loss to India’s R. Vaishali in the final round.
Muzychuk’s draw in the classical game against the Indian earned both players a point each, while Vaishali secured another half a point by beating the Ukrainian in the Armageddon sudden death to finish on 11 points.
Had Vaishali defeated Muzychuk -- who was on 15.5 points overnight -- in the Classical game, she would have deprived the Ukrainian Grandmaster of three points, which would have propelled Koneru Humpy to the title had the two-time world rapid champion too got the better of Chinese world champion Ju Wenjun in the Classical game.
Unfortunately, Humpy, who was on 13.5 points overnight after round 9, could only manage a draw with white pieces to earn one point. She got another half point by overcoming Wenjun in the Armageddon tie-break to earn 1.5 points, and finish with 15 points and a third-place finish.
